The trio of ENRC founding shareholders has been given more time to improve
their offer for the miner by the Takeover Panel after the board rejected a
proposed offer.

Shares in ENRC, the troubled FTSE 100 mining giant, look set to fall further after the oligarchs bidding for the company tabled a lower than expected offer.

The market was braced for a bid of around 300p a share ahead of Friday’s 'put up or shut up’ deadline for the consortium which, made up of the three founding shareholders and the Kazakh government, already holds 54pc of ENRC.

However, reports emerged after markets closed that the offer was just 247p a share, a 7pc premium to the share price before the consortium last month announced it might offer for the company.

ENRC had already dropped 8pc to close at 271.6p on Friday, as its board said the offer “materially undervalues” the group and asked for more time to allow for a revised proposal - but did not give details of the initial offer.

Mohsen Khalil, chairman of the independent committee of the board, said: "We believe the current proposal materially undervalues ENRC, and we will use the extension to seek an improved and formal proposal."

ENRC co-founders Alexander Machkevitch, Alijan Ibragimov and Pathokh Chodiev announced last month they were weighing up a buyout of the miner's minority investors, with the support of the Kazakh government, which is also a major shareholder.

The Kazakh-focused mining group is currently under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office. Taking the company private could provide a neat exit for all involved, but minority shareholders are likely to be incensed by the low offer.

Kazakhmys, the miner which has a 26pc stake in ENRC, is understood to be happy with how the deal is structured - the consortium would pay in cash and Kazakhmys shares, allowing it to raise its free float - but not with the price.

The Takeover Panel has given the consortium until June 3 to come up with a firm bid. A spokesman for the consortium declined to comment on the offer price reports.